A number of the issues are also relevant to ongoing dialogues we have with Unison and Unite the Union. An earlier statement was published on 14 September 2022.
As you know, there are matters where UCU nationally remains in dispute with employers. Locally, however, we continue to work collegially with colleagues in our UCU branch and meet regularly with them over any concerns (including joint meetings with LSU), and this is an opportunity to update you on that work.
USS pension scheme
UCU nationally have made a number of requests about pensions. The key points which we have committed to and have agreed locally with our branch were outlined in a joint statement last year. We have noted the recent developments in relation to the USS pension scheme and welcome them.
Universities UK has launched a consultation on governance reforms for the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). You will remember from previous correspondence that the University has been supportive of such a review, and Richard Taylor, the Chief Operating Officer, will join the national Review’s liaison group. We agree with our local UCU branch that any review of governance must address the lack of trust between all the parties. This is one example of how we are attempting to influence this dispute at a national level.
Pay
Pay is negotiated at a national level for almost all universities. Therefore, the collective settlement needs to be affordable by those employers, and with at least a quarter of all universities currently in a loss-making position, this will be challenging. It also means we cannot resolve the issue of pay at a local level. Just before Christmas, however, we were able to make a one-off cost of living payment to most members of staff, worth up to £1,200 at an overall cost to the University of circa £3m. This was a genuine attempt to recognise the challenges faced by individuals at this time in a way that was affordable in the context of the University’s financial position.
Our biggest single source of income, the regulated undergraduate student fee, has barely changed in a decade and will remain frozen during this period of high inflation. In the same period, the University’s pay bill and employer pension contributions have risen significantly. This inflationary squeeze on the University’s financial model is compounded by the current high levels of inflation; our utilities charge alone has doubled in the past two years. We are making cost savings wherever possible (for example, greater standardisation of IT equipment and procurement in the professional services has saved £0.25m annually. Reducing our heating by one degree has saved almost £1m this year).
In recent years, our spend on capital projects (buildings, refurbishments and infrastructure) was reduced as a result of the pandemic. However, capital expenditure is vitally important to the University, not just to maintain existing buildings and facilities, but also to replace and refurbish buildings in need of upgrade. We need, in addition, to provide capacity for new income-generating activity, which includes advancing our research agenda. Any such spend is managed very carefully and is informed by the University Strategy so that we are clear on the returns on the investment and the value that the spend will bring to the University. Recent developments have predominantly been restricted to those funded by external money or where they have a self-funding commercial case.
We are also looking to increase our income. One example is the establishment of our International Study Centre, in partnership with Cambridge Education Group, which will open this summer and will help increase our international student numbers. Our work with Imago, to increase its profitability, has gone well this year, and we are tracking ahead of an already ambitious profit plan; this, in turn, supports the University’s financial position.
We have responded constructively to consultations on pay initiated by UCEA (the joint body leading the negotiations on behalf of all employers) and have supported the largest awards we believe are affordable. However, in common with a significant proportion of other universities, we simply cannot afford the pay demand of 15.4% (RPI + 2%) made by the national unions. This would cost us around £28m every year and would require significant savings, including potential redundancies and recruitment freezes. There has been talk of using the reserves the sector holds to fund a larger rise, but as this helpful article sets out, it is wrong to think those reserves are cash and thus available for this purpose. The reserves also belong to individual universities and not the sector as a whole. As we stated in the tripartite statement we released recently with UCU and the Students’ Union, we join other voices in the sector in encouraging a longer-term review of the university funding model.
As you may know from previous statements, our HR team is currently reviewing our pay, reward and benefits packages and identifying how we can make changes that will enable us to continue to be competitive in the changing world we are living in. For example, we have committed to extend our Living Wage commitment beyond our current position of paying the wage, so as to become a formal accredited Living Wage Employer. We are also reviewing our annual leave arrangements and family leave provision.
Equality
We have committed in our new University Strategy to become increasingly diverse, equitable and inclusive as an organisation. A significant amount of work is underway, and a new University-level Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee has been formed, chaired by Professor Charlotte Croffie who joined us at the start of the academic year as our first Pro Vice-Chancellor for EDI. We have created a new EDI Services team which will be led by Veronica Moore. A new EDI Operations Board has also been created, including membership from the trade unions. We are currently developing our core EDI plan in support of the EDI ambitions contained in the University’s strategy. There will be multiple opportunities for individuals to engage with the EDI agenda (for example by joining focus groups, attending events, and leading specific activities). Read more about our achievements and emerging plans.
One of the areas that has attracted media attention recently is our gender pay gap. The gender pay gap compares the earnings of men and women regardless of their roles (i.e. it is not the same concept as equal pay, which considers men and women’s earnings for similar roles, and where there is no institutional equal pay gap). We have worked hard to understand our gender pay gap.
We have recently published information on our gender pay gap for March 2022. This shows a reduction from 23.4% in 2021 to 21.9% in 2022 (mean) and from 31.3% in 2021 to 25.4% in 2022 (median). Whilst this movement is positive, we are conscious that we still have plenty of work to do.
Although there is no statutory requirement to publish race pay gap data, we have published our data from 2020. This shows that our race pay gap in 2020 was 7.3% (mean) and 11.1% (median). We intend to publish information on our race pay gap later in the spring and also to extend our pay gap analysis during 2023 to include other protected characteristics such as disability.
Professor Charlotte Croffie recently published a blog post about this, which can be found online.
Workload
Project Enable, established in support of the delivery of the new strategic plan, has made good progress in terms of identifying workload savings. Phase 1 of the project is complete and has made changes that will result in savings of 2,000 person-days per year. Phase 2 will need to go even further, but we have shown we can reduce workload and identify areas where processes can be made simpler so as to better meet the needs of colleagues. Updates on the project can be viewed on the Project Enable webpage. Union colleagues are playing an active and important role in this work, and we are grateful to them for their input.
A number of workload issues have been raised which relate to the delivery and support of learning and teaching, and the subsequent concentration of workload at specific times of the academic year. Recognising this, the Education & Student Experience core plan will address issues such as reviewing our academic year structure to create headroom for both students and staff and how we assess students as effectively as possible.
Additionally, the University’s Executive Board has received an approach to managing academic workload, drawn up in consultation with UCU, on which more will be said shortly.
Casualisation
We previously reported that a working group comprising senior leaders and representatives from the campus unions agreed and implemented a document setting out some principles on casual working. These aim to ensure that individuals who work for the University are given an appropriate contract for the work they’re undertaking and are treated fairly while working here. If you are a manager, please be sure that you are familiar with these principles.
This has led to some positive outcomes, with casual contract numbers declining and open-ended contracts being the norm – although we recognise that this is an area we need to continue progressing.
We are supportive of the terms of reference for the working group on casualisation agreed with the national unions and UCEA via the recent Acas talks. We will be discussing how we make progress on this matter at the Academic and Related Staff Negotiating Committee (ARSNC) next week and we will provide further updates in due course.
Summary
We continue to prioritise constructive dialogue with our campus unions. That’s not to say we agree on everything – we quite often have different perspectives and viewpoints. However, we’re all working together to achieve the same outcome – a great employment experience for our staff that is underpinned by fairness, equity and inclusion and that is competitive with other employers.
By working well together at Loughborough, we are able to influence national discussions more effectively and to make as strong a contribution as we can to the resolution of the current disputes.